Beautiful Stranger
by dawnsama
Summary: Done! AU After a severe breakup with Allen, Hitomi is literally almost killed by Van, a star on the run who sees the hurting inside of her and decideds to heal her pain.
1. Curtains go up

A/N Ooookkkaayyyyy… Well, here's my new fic. It started out as a Trigun fic but I realized that it worked better with Esca so I changed it but I apologize in advance if I typed "Vash" instead of "Van" at times. This is part of my Sassy Girl series, a series of one shots all more or less inspired by the movie My Sassy Girl (check my bio for my details). This fic is an exception, I think this will be two parts. Disclaimer: I don't own Escaflowne. 

**Beautiful Stranger, Part 1**

Hitomi eyed her boyfriend, Allen carefully as they both sipped at their drinks. 

They were in the downtown of the next city over at an outdoor café. They had done this many times before. Allen enjoyed dates of simplicity, just hanging out at the mall or merely walking down the boardwalk. Hitomi had quickly adjusted to his style, being in love with him. 

But something was wrong. Hitomi could feel it in the way Allen drummed his fingertips upon the surface of the table and how his eyes flicked up at her and then back down again.

            Sighing, Hitomi placed her cup on the table.

            "Okay, Allen, what's the real reason you called me out here," she said, trying to keep her voice even. Over the past few weeks, the seeds of suspicion had been planted in Hitomi. At school, her friends whispered of kisses and romantic gazes shared by Allen and a certain blonde girl. At first Hitomi wouldn't believe it. Sure, Allen was popular and a real romantic when he was around girls. When she first started dating him, Hitomi couldn't believe her luck that such a popular guy would choose her, a quiet girl of no popularity, as his girlfriend. 

But as time went by, Hitomi found that she couldn't ignore the rumors anymore. The evidence was right in front of her. She could see the way Allen sneaked glances at that girl Millerna and the way she winked back with that look, a look that sympathized with him because he was tied down with a gawky girl like Hitomi. Yet as the weeks went by, Allen didn't make a move to break up with Hitomi, so she thought that it was all over. Yet she could still see those little signs. Allen's attention was drawing away from her. Hitomi didn't want to break up with him. Being with Allen gave her confidence, she felt beautiful when Allen gazed at her.

Then again, those gazes had disappeared already.

Allen twitched uncomfortably under Hitomi's stare. Hitomi felt the boiling water of tension rise up. She knew he wanted to end their relationship now but he didn't. Hitomi knew it was because he was sensitive to her feelings and didn't want to stab her in the back. This comforted Hitomi because it showed he still had some feelings for her. Allen was a true gentleman. But at the same time, she hated him for his gentlemanliness. It was eating her inside to be with a guy who didn't love her anymore. Why couldn't he just break up with her and be done with it? The sooner Hitomi was exposed to pain, the sooner the pain would go away. It would be better that way.

"Well?" Hitomi asked, her voice a sharp edge. 

Then again, maybe she should have broken up with him first. Hitomi did have a right to do that. Then Allen would go to his Millerna and be happy. But the reason she didn't do it was because she knew that she would sink down into the earth while Allen flew away into the heavens, never to be by her side again, she could be alone. And the worst part would be that she had brought it down on herself. Selfishly, Hitomi still held on to the daydream that maybe Allen would forget Millerna and things would be normal again. That was the main reason she couldn't do it. Yes, it was better if Allen did the deed. 

Finally, Allen stopped wasting time and set his cup down as well. But he merely said, "I'll take you home, Hitomi."

Hitomi quickly stood up to cover up her dumbfounded face. Why couldn't he just get it over with already?

They walked to his car and climbed in. The first few minutes of driving were in silence, each waiting for the other to speak first. Hitomi detested this silence, but she wasn't going to relent first.

In the end, Allen blew out his breath slowly. "Hitomi," he began. 

"Yes?" 

Allen stiffened at her voice, startled by her interruption. He took a deep breath. 

"You know I care about you," he said carefully. "But well…"

Hitomi looked out the window so that he wouldn't see her biting her lip, keeping a scream in. 

Allen tightened his grip on the wheel. Suddenly, he turned offensive. "I don't know why you're still with me, Hitomi. Anyone can see that my feelings for you aren't what they used to be. You're not blind. You're a sharp girl, Hitomi, that's why I liked you in the first place."

Hitomi glanced sideways at this comment. _You're a sharp girl, _he had said.

"How can you still sit there knowing this? I know I'm hurting you yet you still refuse to change. It's killing me Hitomi!" Allen exclaimed.

Beads of wetness were beginning to form in her eyes. Hitomi closed her eyes briefly but the tears didn't stop.

"I think we both know that our relationship should have ended a long time ago. Everyone in the goddamn school of ours knows that! But you still won't let go of me, you still hold on. I don't understand it."

The boiling inside bubbled. Hitomi slowly turned her head to stare at her boyfriend. Was that pain in his voice? 

Allen flinched at the intensity of her stare but continued.

"So let's just end it now shall we?" Allen finished with a sigh of relief.

The boiling burst. Hitomi looked down at her hand. Allen waited nervously as she clenched it into a fist. 

With a growl, Hitomi slammed her fist at on the dashboard.

"I don't believe you," she snarled. "Why don't you just go out and say it? You like Millerna! Don't pin the blame on me. I'm not the unfaithful one! We both know it all started with your crush on _her, _that slutty bitch!"

"Hey," Allen protested. "She's not-"

"You're still talking?" Hitomi shouted angrily. "You're making sound as if it were my fault you're breaking up with me. It's your own fault!"

"Well if you knew than why didn't you break up with me first?" Allen yelled back.

"Because I still liked you, you bastard!" Hitomi shrieked. Why did he have to be such a dumbass? Why of all times did he have to be stupid now? "I can't stand this anymore. Let me out," she ordered, putting a hand on the door.

"What are you talking about?" Allen said through gritted teeth. "I'm driving you home. It's the least I can do right?"

"I don't want to spend another minute in this god damn car with you," Hitomi told him coldly. "Let me out!"

"Hitomi…" Allen locked the doors. "How will you get home? We're miles away from your house."

"I'll get a ride," Hitomi hissed. She unlocked the door.

"Give it up. I'm bringing you home," Allen said firmly.

"Fine then!" Hitomi shrieked. As Allen slowed near a stop sign, Hitomi opened the door.

"Good bye, Allen. Fuck you," Hitomi said icily. As the car began to move she leaped out of the car, slamming the door behind her, the car speeding away.

Dusting herself off, Hitomi went back onto the sidewalk and walked back downtown. Surprisingly, they hadn't gone very far away from the shops. Only a few blocks.

At the same time that Hitomi began to cross the street, a tall, raven-haired man dashed down the block. Looking behind him, he did not see the hoards of screaming girls stampeding his way but that meant nothing. In his experience, they always somehow found him eventually. 

And then suddenly, his sensitive ears picked up the sounds of cheering in the distance. He couldn't here exactly what they were saying but he wasn't taking any chances. He increased his speed and pretty soon the scenery around was just a blur.

He zipped down the street…

Hitomi was only have way down the street when something hard knocked into her. Arms flaying, Hitomi gasped as she fell to the ground, right in front of the intersection. She screamed as the sight of a car that suddenly looked huge and menacing sped down the street toward her. Quickly, Hitomi scooted out of the car's way and then moved again as another car honked at her. She hurriedly dashed to the sidewalk for her life.

He felt something warm and soft bump into him. When he reached the sidewalk, he turned around to see that certain warm and soft thing lying on the street.

'OH NO I KILLED HER!!!' he thought panicky. 'I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry,' he began to think, hoping that her soul would here.

But to his relief, the girl picked herself up and somehow made it to the sidewalk.

Hitomi instantly picked out the raven-haired man as the one who knocked her down. The boiling feeling inside had calmed as she was walking but now it heated again.

"I'm really sorry, miss," he started immediately. "Are you alright? Any cuts or bruises?"

"What the fuck is the matter with you?" she yelled in his face, cheeks red with anger. Hitomi didn't wait for an answer. "You nearly killed me! I could have been killed! Why can't you look where you're going?"

"Um…" the man said as Hitomi kept ranting. "Look I'm sorry," he said sincerely. "Can I help you with anything? You're not hurt are you?" he asked, genuinely concerned

Suddenly, Hitomi felt exhausted. All this in one day…it suddenly just too much. Her face sagged tiredly as she turned away from the man.

"Could you please just leave me alone?" she snapped. She wondered off a few paces to a grassy courtyard nearby and sat down on the grass with a thump. Hitomi hugged her knees to her chest and looked up to the sky, wondering what she did to deserve such a bad day.

There were some crunching sounds behind her and the raven-haired man sat down next to her.

"Didn't I tell you to leave me alone? Get the hell away," Hitomi told him. But it was in a half-hearted tone, she was just saying it in her anger.

"Look," the man said. Then he stopped, look what? What could he say? After some thought, he relented and decided to tell her the truth. "My name is Van," he told her. "Please, I nearly killed you. Let me help you."

Hitomi's ears pricked at the name. Van. Where had she heard it before? Disregarding that thought, Hitomi said back to him, "I'm Hitomi."

"Pleased to meet you, Miss Hitomi," Van said. He watched her face carefully. Good, he thought, satisfied. She had not suddenly screamed gleefully nor did she appear to be in love with him. Very good.

"I'm really very sorry for knocking you down," said Van. "Is there anything wrong? Are you hurt?"

Hitomi gave a dry laugh. It hit her that she had been in shock over the break up in Allen's car. All she had thought was that he was blaming it on her for the break up and how wrong he was for implying that. Now she could see that he did have a point. Hitomi had never said anything about Millerna. It was because of her cowardice that the pain had to be this way.

It was funny really. The tears in her eyes had disappeared, perhaps with the shock of almost being killed. Her eyes were perfectly dry.

"Yes, I am hurt," Hitomi said. "I'm hurting from heartburn."

"Really? You heart problems? Is it your blood pressure?" Van asked fantic. Of all people he had to bump into, it had to be someone with heart problems? His luck was really going down today…

"No," Hitomi snapped. She clutched her knees even harder and sighed. Clearly, this Van person was not going to get off her back anytime soon.

"If you must know," she told him. "I just recently broke up with my boyfriend."

"Oh really? I'm so sorry!" Van cried sympathetically. And then he began to sing a brief melody.

Hitomi stared at him in disbelief. "What are you doing?"

"Hm? Oh." Van laughed sheepishly. "I did it again. Sometimes songs just pop into my head and start singing unconsciously. I just thought up a song about breakups. It was a very nice song too if I do say so myself." Then he froze. _AH!!! You idiot! About breakups? Why did you tell her that?_

But Hitomi didn't seem emotionally traumatized. She shrugged. "You don't have to act in front of me. It was really recent. Just less than an hour ago."

"Oh, really?" 

Awkward silence.

"So…" Hitomi said

Then suddenly Van cringed and dove behind Hitomi. Hitomi frowned at the ducking man.

"What the hell are you doing?" she demanded.

Van pointed behind her. Twisting around, Hitomi caught sight of a pack of rapidly moving girls, each caring an assortment of cds, posters, t-shirts…all bearing the image of Van. She gave him a suspicious look.

"So what happened to you recently?" Hitomi asked. She wasn't quite sure why she was still talking to Van, a perfect stranger. The answer came quickly: it wasn't as if she had anything else to do. In fact, she quite liked him. He was a good listener.

"Ah, well…" Van began to twiddle his thumbs nervously. Hitomi sighed and shook out her hand. Van flinched as a fist suddenly punched his shoulder. "Ow! What'd you do that for?" 

Hitomi shrugged. She wasn't in a very nice mood now. She liked this mood. It gave her courage to be blunt and direct with people, even strangers. Hitomi hoped this mood would last before the pain of the breakup came over.

Van sighed when Hitomi didn't answer. "Well, you see," Van began. "I'm a musician, and a pretty good one at that," he added. Hitomi didn't react. She only raised an eyebrow telling him to go on. "People like my music you see, and I'm pretty popular, especially with girls for some reason-"

"You're a pop star." Hitomi confirmed. Ah, so that was why she recognized the name. Then realization dawned. "Oh! You're Van de Fanel, right?"

Van flinched. Well, there goes any possible normal conversation, straight out the window. "Maybe…" he said.

But then instead of leaping up and screaming and hugging him, Hitomi only had a thoughtful look on her features.

She remembered now. Her friends had gushed over Van de Fanel, eagerly pointing him out in magazines or TV concerts. Hitomi hadn't really cared. After listening to half a song, she had concluded that Van de Fanel was just one of those regular pop stars, famous for the moment, forgotten the next. She hadn't really taken it seriously. Meeting him in person didn't have much of an effect either.

"You were running pretty quickly…" she began.

"To get away from the crowds, yes," Van finished for her. "I'm really sorry for bumping into you," he said again. "I was in a hurry and I was panicking and-"

Hitomi hissed and punched the grass. "How many times do I have to say it? I'm fine! It's okay! Stop worrying about me, I don't even know you!"

Van relented and fell silent, deciding not to mention that it was actually the first time she confirmed her health. He watched her and detected the hurt and pain inside the girl.

Hitomi waited for him to walk away, fully aware of the fact that she was letting a celebrity go away. But the body warmth beside her didn't move. She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. They both sat in silence.

Surprisingly, it was Hitomi who broke it first. "He was a really great guy," she murmured, staring at the trees above her.

"Who?" Van asked, puzzled.

"Allen was always nice to everybody, that's why everyone liked him so much. That's what made him popular. Well, that and his looks at least," Hitomi corrected herself. "But he was always flirting with girls, he dated some, flirted with others…and somehow he chose me. Geeky, little me. Little Hitomi who sat in the crowd, unnoticed by anyone who mattered."

"Oh, I see," Van said uncertainly, not sure how to respond.

"I should have known it wouldn't last," Hitomi commented. "We were in totally different social classes. It would never work, not ever with a guy like him. He was always looking around. He saw me, but how long did I really think it would last? And then he turned his eyes to that bitch."

Van stayed silent, letting her talk.

"That slut, Millerna. She played around with him behind my back. She knew I could see those little love letters in his locker, that stupid hand of hers brushing his arm…and her eyes, I hated her eyes. She would catch my gaze with one eye, laughing at me while her other eye winked at Allen.

"I knew Allen looked at her, he looked at her in the way he used to look at me. But he never made a move on her because of me, even though he desperately wanted to."

"So he still liked you a little, then," Van concluded.

Hitomi looked down almost sheepishly. "That didn't make sense. There was no reason for him to be attached to me anymore. I was nothing like those other girls he dated. I wasn't gorgeous, I didn't wear short skirts or skimpy tank tops. I don't even have big breasts!"

For some reason, Van's eyes slid down from her face to somewhere lower but Hitomi crossed her arms just in time.

"It doesn't make any sense!" she said again. Then she laughed dryly. "Well, then again, he did break up with me eventually. He finally got the nerve and broke up with me. The deed is done." Hitomi laughed again. "So what's your life story, Van?"

"Oh, I wrote a song one day and somebody liked it. That somebody turned out to be the president of a recording company and got me a contract. Then I showed him my other songs and recorded them and sold them. Then they were played all around the country and people liked them too and I got famous." Van stopped to take a breath. "Yeah, that's basically it."

"And then the crowds came right?"

"Don't remind me."

            As Allen sped down the highway, his mind was in a constant battle. Should he have left Hitomi there, all alone? _She deserved it_, one part of his mind said. _She could have said something and it would have been over a long time ago. Hitomi didn't know how to let go._

_            But she still liked me, _another part argued. _She would be devastated._

_            Well, she's devastated now isn't she?_

Allen groaned in frustration. No matter how he looked at it, it was his actions, his faults that caused it all. How could he help but not notice Hitomi, that pretty girl who seemed to melt into the background? He had pulled her out before she completely mingled in and discovered a different girl. She was different from all the other girls he had dated, not only social status but in mind and body. Hitomi was witty, she could listen, she was smart. But Allen being Allen, he also noticed Millerna, a beautiful girl. But Hitomi never complained nor left him even though it was obvious that he liked Millerna. This had puzzled him so he stayed with Hitomi, just to see why she didn't let go. But the wires had twisted and wound round and round until the only way to unknot the situation was to just cut off Hitomi's strand of wire completely.

            He pulled to the side and leaned on the driving wheel. Hitomi didn't deserve to be hurt this way, that was for sure.

            Finally, he revved up the engine again and turned around, driving toward downtown.

            Hitomi wondered once again at her irregular circumstances. They had exchanged cell phone numbers and email addresses, just for the hell of it. If any one of her friends were here, they would now be squealing and jumping for joy at her raven-haired company and flying over their heads now that she had a means of contacting him. But Hitomi couldn't care less about Van's fame, she didn't even listen to her music. It was apparent that Van was grateful for this, and he relaxed next to her.

            Looking at her, the wheels in Van's mind began to churn up images and those images turned into words and the words into poetry. He wished desperately wished that he had a pen and paper to write down these lyrics but out of respect for Hitomi's pain, he decided that he could wait until later. The dark pain inside her reflected on her face, revealing a misty swirl of hurt and confusion.

            Van couldn't stand that pain inside and decided that he would help this girl Hitomi and heal her pain.

             "Maybe it'll help if you talk about it?" Van began.

            "Talk about what?" Hitomi asked.

            "Your breakup, the events that lead up to it, why it happened. Stuff like that."

            Hitomi narrowed her eyes at him. "Why should I talk about it with _you _of all people?"

            "Look at this way." Van shifted himself so that he faced Hitomi. "I'm a stranger to you, so that means I don't know any of the people that you talk about so you don't have to worry about me gossiping about you. I also don't know very much about the situation, which means you can start from the beginning and get out all the details so that we can examine the problem from all angles. And lastly, I'm a very good listener and I truly want to help you. If I can't help you, then we can both just walk away and forget about it because it won't matter since we don't really know each other." Well, she didn't know him. Van was beginning to get a clear picture of Hitomi's personality.

            Hitomi nodded slowly. "That makes sense I guess…"

            "Good. Now, start from the beginning," Van ordered.

A/N Actually, this fanfic is a figment of my daydreams. In my daydream, more or less the same thing that Hitomi goes through happens to me, ie I am in Hitomi's place and in Van's place is this foreign pop star that I scoff at or something like that. So that means yes, this fic is actually like a diary entry for me of my daydreams ^^; Well I hoped you like it and I apologize to Allen fans. Please review!


	2. Curtains go down

A/N Hi everyone! I'm so so so sorry for taking such a long time to update. I'm also sorry to the people who are waiting for me to update Motorcycles of Escaflowne. I wanted to finish this story first though since it's shorter. So to make up for my absence, I loaded two chapters, and this story is also finished. I really hope you like this chapter! 

Disclaimer: I don't own Escaflowne but I do own my daydream that started this story. Beautiful Stranger, Part 2 

"Good. Now, start from the beginning," Van ordered. 

Hitomi ran a hand through her short clipped hair. "From the beginning?" she repeated. She threw herself back onto the grass. "But there's so much more to it than you think-" 

Van followed her suit and lay down on the grass beside her. "Well, then give me a condensed version," he suggested. 

Hitomi closed her eyes briefly, thinking. She opened them. Her mouth opened. 

She let it spill about the time before Allen had noticed her, how she had always adored the handsome, popular blonde but always from a distance. She had been such a shy girl, pretty but not flashy enough to be popular. She always somewhere in the background but only as noticeable as a single petal on a rose. There was nothing about her that stood out from the thousands of other petals, nothing special. At the time, Hitomi had been thoroughly convinced that there was no possibility, no chance whatsoever, that she would ever have the honor of calling herself Allen Schezar's girlfriend. 

So that's why she hadn't flirted with Allen when they were fatefully partnered together for an English project. Hitomi had been pleased for sure at her luck but nevertheless, she did not jump for the opportunity to smile seductively and raise her brows suggestively as other girls have done in the past. Instead, Hitomi had swallowed her infatuation of Allen and squashed down her fantasies. She had treated Allen in the same fashion she treated her fellow classmates. She would have intellect conversations with Allen, she joked, she laughed, she told stories, and she was witty. Allen in turn had smiled pleasantly at her wit and gave her clever answers. Soon enough, a sort of friendship formed. 

Hitomi laughed out loud as she related this to Van. "I was so proud of myself that I kept my feelings for Allen down. I seriously didn't think our relationship would get any further than that." 

"Bullshit," was Van's reply. "I think I can see where this is going from here. Did he ask you out after your English project?" 

Hitomi turned her head to Van in shock. "How did you know?" she asked. 

Van grinned to himself. "What can I say? I'm a really smart guy." 

Hitomi smirked in good humor and sat up, stretching out her arms to the sky. 

Van looked on as her stretching caused Hitomi's shirt to slide up her body, revealing her lean belly. He sighed in disappointment when the shirt slid down again and folded his arms under his head. 

"Go on," he suggested. 

"You already said what happened next. One day out of the blue Allen asked me out." Hitomi hugged her legs to her chest, eyes glazing over in memory. "I was so surprised. By that time we were really good friends and I didn't notice any suggestion that Allen had any feelings whatsoever for me. I don't _think _I showed any for him in any case." 

To this day, Hitomi went on, it still puzzled her as to why Allen had asked _her _out of all people,. She remembered being so overjoyed that Allen had actually noticed her, _really _noticed her, in not just a friendly but romantic way. It was so strange. She had not acted as though she had a crush on him at all, Allen had developed feelings for her on his own! Hitomi hadn't had to do anything to attract him! Lady Luck had smiled on Hitomi that day. 

The first few months of being Allen's girlfriend had been so blissful. She was happy with Allen. At first she had been fearful that Allen's feelings for her would wane into nothing, Hitomi had been extremely conscious of the rumors wrapped around her new boyfriend. Some of his ex-girlfriends had even come up to her and warned her of his playboy reputation. 

But Allen really genuinely seemed to be in love with her. It showed in the tender way he looked at her and the sweet kisses they shared between classes. Hitomi could remember quite clearly how quickly her crush had transformed into love. 

Once again, Hitomi laughed at herself, burying her face into her knees. "I was so _stupid_, back then! I really believed that it would last. I actually thought that Allen would always be in love with me! Can you believe that!" 

Van stared up at her from the ground. He sat up when a single bead of wetness dribbled down her cheek. 

"You don't have to go on," he suggested, lifting a hand to wipe away the tear. "If it's that painful…" 

Hitomi looked at him, the tears flowing across her face. She smiled sadly and smoothed the tears away. "No," she said. "I want to go on, I want to finish it for you Van." She stared at the tears on her hands. "It's funny really," she murmured. 

"What is?" 

"I didn't start crying until now. Even when I had a chance to think while walking up here after he broke up with me, I didn't cry. Not a tear." 

"Well, now you're crying, aren't you?" Van pointed out. He flinched at his lack of tact. "Sorry, that was dumb of me…" 

"This is different," Hitomi said. "I'm not crying because he broke up with me. I'm crying for the past." 

Van propped his elbow on his knee and rested his chin on his fist. He watched, mesmerized, as Hitomi wiped away another stranded tear. 

Allen was well known for his player qualities. It had shocked their classmates to see Allen with the same girl for more than three months and better yet, their relationship was still strong. It had seemed like nothing could come between Allen and Hitomi, nothing… 

Until _she _came along. Millerna was one of those glamorous types; the kind of girl who would probably end up on the cover of a huge fashion magazine that sold out in over five languages across more than four continents. She was popular, sophisticated, and had class. And she had her eye on Allen. 

"I hated her," Hitomi said softly, hugging her knees. "I hated that bitch even before she started flirting with Allen. She was beautiful and she knew it. Millerna always acted as though she was on the top looking back down on us. And the sad thing was that she really believed that. That slut really thought she was better than all of us, as if she were a princess or something." 

Guys were attracted to her like ants on sugar. They flocked around her, forming her own protective barrier of fawning suitors. But none of the caught her eye the way Allen did. 

Allen couldn't resist her charms. Millerna would saunter sexily down the hallways amid her pack of admirers and raise her eyebrow at Hitomi when the couple passed her. Her eyes would hover over Hitomi for a moment in a cool, calculating gaze and then slide over dismissively. And then her eyes would meet Allen with a playful, seductive wink. The next time they passed her in the halls there would be an alluring smile on her face. And then there was a haughty toss of the head, her hair accidentally sliding against Allen's face. 

Hitomi had not suspected anything at the time. She thought it was all coincidence that they saw Millerna a little too often. 

"I was also assured that Allen would never look at any other girl. Remember, I thought we would be together forever," Hitomi added. "How stupid I was," she said again in a mumble. 

"Oh come on now," Van said soothingly. "You didn't know better so don't beat yourself up. Was Allen your first kiss too?" 

Hitomi glanced sideways at Van in disbelief. "How did you know that?" she asked suspiciously. 

"In my experience, girl's always overestimate their first loves, because, obviously, they've never had love before. It's not their fault really, they just didn't know better. It's their second or third loves that stick most of the time." 

"How do you _know_?" Hitomi demanded. "What do you know about love?" 

Van grinned at her suspicion. He liked this perky Hitomi better than that solemn, sorrow-streaked story telling girl. "I'm a musician, and a rock star at that," Van bragged. "Of _course _I am an expert in love. I mean, it's a given really." 

Hitomi suddenly laughed out loud, a huge contrast to her tear streaked face. "That's funny, Van," she said. "That's really funny!" 

"Eh?" Van raised an eyebrow as Hitomi began to laugh manically. He began to feel concern when Hitomi became even more hysterical. Sure enough, soon Hitomi began to cry again. She sank down on to the grass and curled up in a tight ball. 

Van sighed. He moved closer to Hitomi and gently lifted her head and rested her against his knee. He wondered briefly how far he was willing to go to comfort a perfect stranger and shrugged that thought away. Bending over, he smiled into Hitomi's face. 

"I'm sorry. Maybe my idea isn't helping at all," he said. 

Hitomi closed her eyes tightly and opened them again. 

"I told you I would finish it," she said simply. 

Contradicting her thoughts at the time, Allen was certainly not immune in the least to Millerna's charms. He didn't seem to actively react to her approaches. He only gave that stunning smile that he beamed at everyone. But he responded personally to Millerna is little ways. Allen would discreetly meet her eyes or perhaps brush slightly against her. Hitomi didn't notice at first, she was too infatuated with Allen to be suspicious of anything. Perhaps this was what encouraged Millerna to go even further. 

Millerna began to actually touch Allen. She would brush a finger against his shoulder and look at Hitomi, daring her to say something. Once Millerna even tucked a ruffled strand of hair behind Allen's ear. Eventually, Millerna would tuck an arm into Allen's when Hitomi wasn't there. She would claim that she and Allen were 'just friends' and would leave it at that. And Allen allowed her to do that! He didn't protest in the least, not even when Hitomi looked at him sharply. It finally came to a point one day when Hitomi found a smudge of foreign lipstick on his mouth. 

Even Hitomi couldn't ignore it. At first she persuaded herself that it was all in her head. Allen would never go behind her back, she had thought. He loved her, didn't he? But her friends had proved her wrong and they forced her to see the truth: Allen was falling in love with Millerna. 

In the days that followed, Hitomi was stricken with terror. If Allen didn't like her anymore, then he would surely break up with her soon. Hitomi began to live in fear that this day would be the last she would ever see him again. She kept quiet about his "affair" as her friends called it for fear of speeding up the big break up. Why did she keep quiet exactly? It was because in her heart, Hitomi still loved Allen for all he felt for her. 

But it didn't happen. Allen and Hitomi were still officially a couple. Allen hung on to her all through that month. Confused, Hitomi went along with it, relishing every moment she still had with her the only boyfriend she ever had. But Allen still continued to see Millerna every so often. In the end, Hitomi grew exasperated at their little façade and began to wish that Allen would hurry up and break up with her so that the pain would go away. 

"I learned something in that period of our relationship," Hitomi remarked, head resting on Van's knee. "I learned bitterness. I learned how much selfishness I harbored inside." 

"Really?" Van replied. 

"I became bitter whenever Millerna was around. I think Allen noticed it but he ignored it and carried on like normal. Being bitter is something that didn't come naturally to me at the time. I was nice person, the kind of girl that everyone would describe as 'friendly.' But that's it, you see, that's all they could describe me as because nobody really knew me until Allen asked me out. So I changed into a bitter person. 

I found that the reason why I didn't break up with Allen myself was because I was selfish. If I wasn't Allen's girlfriend, than I was no one special. I liked being special. People started to talk to me more often and I like that. There was no more fading into the background, no more shyness. Being with Allen gave me more confidence and I wanted to keep that. I thought it would all go away once Allen broke up with me." 

"That's not true," Van cut in sharply. "You can't possibly still believe that." 

Hitomi looked up at him. "Of course I don't," she said bluntly. "I told you, I'm selfish. I'm so selfish that all those qualities didn't go away. I remember still feeling special the moment Allen broke up with me. The only thing he took away from me was my beauty." 

"You shouldn't say that," Van told her softly, gazing down at her. 

"Why not? I'm not as pretty as Millerna. That's why he likes her more than me. She's beautiful and I'm not. I'm not beautiful to him anymore!" Hitomi shrieked. 

She sighed and rolled over on Van's knee. "You already know the rest of the story. Today, Allen finally broke up with me. It's all over now. I'm never going to speak to him again." 

Van kept gazing down at her, a thoughtful expression on his face. "It's not over," he said suddenly. "The story isn't over yet." 

Hitomi frowned up at him. "What?" 

"You can still breathe without Allen, right?" Van said. 

"Yeah…" 

"Well, then you're okay. You can still continue your story by yourself. When Allen picked you up, the pace of your story began to speed up and you liked the rush. So therefore, you were frantic when Allen began to hit on someone else because you were starting to slow down again. At that moment you started to move through your story by yourself. You kept up the pace on your own. Soon it came to a point when you didn't need Allen anymore; you could rush by yourself. So you instinctively wanted Allen to breakup with you so you could continue on without his help. But mentally, you weren't used to the pace away from him so there was still a part of you that didn't want to let go. And finally today, Allen didn't want to drag you along your story anymore, possibly because he realized that _he _was the one lagging. So, as he was used to being the one in the lead, Allen broke up with you. So now you are free to go along your story whichever way you please," Van finished. 

While Van was talking, Hitomi had slowly sat up. Now her head was tilted to the side and her mouth gaped open slightly. 

Van smiled sheepishly. "Well, that's just my personal metaphorical analysis of your situation anyway." 

Hitomi stared at him. Then she started to smile. Then she laughed. 

Van gasped indignantly. "What's so funny?" 

"You're just so _strange_!" Hitomi giggled. "That was such a…_unique_ way of describing me!" 

"I try my best," Van admitted. He silently congratulated himself for another triumph: Hitomi was laughing, _really _laughing. 

"Do you feel better now?" he asked her. 

Hitomi blinked. "Actually I do," she said. "It really helped to talk to someone about it." 

She leaned forward and Van suddenly found himself in Hitomi's tight embrace. 

"Thank you Van," she murmured in his ear. "Thank you for listening and helping me heal my wounds. I think I'm over Allen now." 

"That was quick," Van said jokingly. He wrapped his arms around Hitomi and closed his eyes in contentment. 

Hitomi breathed in his masculine scent. Van felt so secure, so _real_ in her embrace. And she somehow felt safe and comfort in his strong arms. 

Then she stiffened. Van opened one eye and asked, "what is it?" 

When Hitomi didn't say anything, Van opened his other eye and looked to the side. There was a car parked nearby. It had been sitting there for a while. Van hadn't noticed it before. He stared at it. There was a blonde guy sitting inside, watching them with cold eyes. 

Van heard Hitomi snort. 

"And there he is," she remarked bitterly. 

"That's Allen?" 

"Oh yeah. Doesn't he look sad?" 

Allen, catching Van's gaze, quickly looked away. He certainly did look sad, almost small. There was a solemn expression on his face, as if he had been let down, but something else too. Guilt. 

Allen looked up again at Van and then his gaze sidled over to Hitomi's. She narrowed her eyes at him. Van could have sworn he heard a hiss from her between her teeth. Whatever it was, Allen had apparently somehow heard it. His widened eyes stared hard at Hitomi. There was a snarl. Finally Allen looked away. He turned on the ignition and drove onto the street. He looked back at Hitomi one last time and was gone. 

"Well, that takes care of him," Hitomi said brightly. 

Van realized that he still had an arm around Hitomi's waist. He decided to keep it there. He noted the brightness in Hitomi's voice and knew how hard it was for her to keep it up. 

"You were wrong about one thing, Hitomi," Van commented. 

Hitomi turned to look at him. "What?" she asked suspiciously. 

"Allen always thought you were beautiful. You were just too beautiful for him. You see Allen's the type of guy who can only handle the flashy kind of beauty, not the real, true beauty because it's too much for him." 

Hitomi ducked her down to hide her smile and blushed. 

"And you know this…how?" she asked to cover up her jitteriness. 

Van grinned and tapped his head. "You're forgetting that I was never infatuated with him, so I can analyze his type immediately." 

Hitomi looked at him incredulously. "You really are amazing," she said. "Maybe I should actually listen to your music some time. What do you go by again? Is it Van de Fanel?" 

As if on cue, a stampeding pack of girls began to appear. Van instinctively dove behind Hitomi and clutched her to the front of him. Hitomi laughed merrily as the girls passed. 

"Maybe I should call my driver and get out of here," Van mumbled. 

Hitomi looked down sharply at him. "You're leaving already?" she asked almost frantically. 

The girls were gone. Van sat up, relieved. He grinned at the shock in her voice. "Don't worry, Hitomi, I'll see you again, even if I am a celebrity." 

Hitomi's frantic look was replaced with a snort as she shoved him playfully. "I don't care about fame!" 

Van stopped himself from leaping and shouting with joy and contented himself with smiling widely. "I'm glad," he replied. "Do you need a ride home?" 

"That would nice, thank you," Hitomi said. She looked down. "Thanks again for everything, Van. You helped me even though we're strangers. I can't possibly repay you…" 

It was here that she realized that they were sitting so close to each other that their hips touched and that Van's arm was wrapped tightly around her waist. Hitomi then proceeded to undergo another session of what her friend liked to call Intense Blushing. 

Van's smile grew even wider. He had meant every word he said. Hitomi really was beautiful, the kind of beauty that radiated outward from deep beneath her skin, not the type that clashed with make-up. Hitomi was a natural beauty; it was just too bad she didn't know it yet. Van could take care of that. If he could, he'd remind of her of her beauty every single day. 

Well, he _did _have her cell phone number, so that thought wasn't too far-fetched… 

Hitomi looked even more beautiful now that she was smiling. Before, when he had bumped into her, Hitomi was a tragic beauty, the Juliet of a tragic Shakespeare play. Van knew right there that he had to heal her pain somehow. He owed to her anyway, especially for almost killing her. 

Hitomi was looking at him right now, her cheeks red, eyes slightly red from crying. Van met her eyes. He saw an angel, an eternally beautiful angel. She closed her deep green eyes as Van leaned forward… 

**A/N Next chapter is the Epilogue. You can either read that now are press the review button and tell me what you think of this chapter… By the way, since my updating schedule is pretty inconsistent, I'm going to send out a mailing list to notify people when I update any of my stories. So if you want to be on the list just email me. Note that if you're on the list, I will update you whenever I update ANY of my stories, meaning I may not have necessarily updated the story you wanted...but than you could read it anyway...**


	3. Overtime

**A/N Here's the epilogue! It's really short but hey, at least I updated right?**

Disclaimer: I don't own Escaflowne but I do own my daydream that started this story. Beautiful Stranger, Epilogue Epilogue 

Hitomi switched on the TV. Van had mentioned a live TV interview and she wanted to see him. Sinking back onto the couch, Hitomi's eyes glued themselves to the screen… 

"Hello ladies and gentlemen! Please welcome our guest, Van de Fanel!" announced the TV show host.

Van strode out from back stage and plopped down on the chair next to the host. He looked faintly uncomfortable as he faced his screaming audience.

"Welcome Van de Fanel! It's great to have you on the show!"

"Um, thanks…uh…great to be here?" Van replied somewhat awkwardly.

"So let's just start from the beginning, Van. You were born here in Fanelia, is that right?" asked the host.

"Yes, Fanelia is my home town," Van answered, shifting uneasily.

"Tell us, what brings you back here?"

"Oh, well…uh…I haven't been here for so long. I've been so busy with concert tours that I don't have any time to visit. I really miss this play. Home sweet…home, right?" Van had a distinctly uncomfortable look on his face.

"Does your return home have anything to do with a very recent incident?" asked the host.

"Incident? Oh, you mean that breakup with my ex, Merle?" Van said simply. "Well, a little bit. I just needed to get away from the crowds for a while…although it seemed that plan backfired," he added.

The audience laughed at the contradiction in his statement. Van looked briefly bewildered at their response. 

"You seem a bit nervous Van," the host commented.

"Hm? Oh. Well I'm sure I've made it plain that I don't like all this publicity. I get a lot of flattering letters, but really! I just want to known for my music. People seem to like looking at my face than listening to my songs though. To tell the truth, I'm pretty disappointed at the responses I'm getting. I'd rather have a small group of hardcore music experts as my fans than all those stupid, idiots I get—uh…" Van coughed. "…right. What was I saying? Oh yes. Well, frankly, I get more letters about my ass than my music."

The audience laughed sheepishly at this.

"Oh…well then," replied the host. "Now let's move on to some recent news. Just a few weeks ago you were in a state of depression from your breakup. But some viewers (who will be kept anonymous) reported that you were kissing a girl in downtown Fanelia just yesterday. Any truth to this Van?"

Van frowned at the rather personal question before answering. "Well, I did meet a girl yesterday and yes, I did kiss her…"

"Oh say it isn't so, Vannie!" someone shouted in the audience. More pleas and assurances that Van was still single soon followed this remark.

Van had the dignity to look embarrassed at some of the more crude remarks shouted at him. "I'm…sorry…?" he said uncertainly. "Well, I do feel that the girl and I have something between us and yes, we are a couple now…"

"Please, tell us about this girl? She must be pretty special if she got you out of depression," the host said gently, throwing a direct look at the audience, who suddenly quieted down.

Van began to smile. "Yes, she really is special. You know, the circumstances we were in were very unique. We both bumped into each other, literally, and she was almost run over. She had just broken off a serious relationship as well, but she was hit harder by it than I was by my breakup."

"Go on," the host urged.

Van shrugged. "What else is there to say? We were strangers but that was okay. I guess when I saw how hurt she was from her breakup I realized how foolish I had been acting recently. I behaved as though the world was crashing over my head. I saw that this she would soon start acting just as stupidly as I did after my breakup. What kind of person would I be if I just let this beautiful stranger walk into something like that?"

"And it was love at first sight?" the host suggested.

Van notched his head to the side in thought. "I don't know," he replied after a moment. "I'm not particularly sure I believe in love at first sight. But there's definitely love in our relationship, at least on my part." He looked directly at the camera while he said this, as if he were trying to catch someone's eye.

"Oh that's nice. Well, that's all the time we have for today. Thank you once again for coming to our show, Van de Fanel!"

"Er…you're welcome…?"

_Hitomi switched off the TV and reached for her cell phone. She dialed some numbers and waited patiently for an answer_

_"Hey it's Van. I'm either running away from my dumbass fans or avoiding the press from hell, so leave a message at the pretty beeping noise!" said the cell phone._

_"Hey," she said into the voice mail. "It's me. I just wanted you to know there's love on part too. See you later."_

_She clicked off her cell phone and settled down on the couch. Van said he'd drop by some time after the interview and Hitomi settled down to wait._

**A/N So, what did you think of this story! I actually finished it too! Amazing isn't it? Well, now that this is finished I guess I'll be working on Motorcycles of Escaflowne or possibly starting other fanfics…*ducks as audience throws assorted vegetables at her head* I'm really really sorry for taking such a long time to update!**

**            Okay, here's some of my thoughts. Hitomi's personality in this fanfic is actually almost exactly like mine. What I mean is that I would react the same way if I were in her place. This whole story is actually a daydream I had in which I was in Hitomi's place and some Hong Kong celebrity was in Van's. Yes I know I'm weird.**

**            Review! **


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